Acquiring

The trend among independent sales organizations and other distributors to offer point-of-sale terminals to merchants at no nominal cost to them?the so-called free terminal trend–is building the case for POS software as an alternative to dedicated, standalone terminals, says the top executive at one company that specializes in PC-based transaction …

In another move by a financial-accounting software company into payment processing, Sage Group PLC is acquiring Verus Financial Management Inc., a privately held independent sales organization, for $325 million in cash. Based in the U.K., Sage markets software used by small businesses to manage finances. Nashville, Tenn.-based Verus provides card …

With Ed Labry this week taking over First Data Corp.'s acquiring business, including First Data Merchant Services, some industry observers are figuring the Denver-based processing giant may be looking toward spinning off both the merchant division and the lucrative Western Union franchise as independent companies some time within the next …

The first checks to merchants entitled to some of the $3.1 billion settlement fund in the Visa/MasterCard debit card antitrust lawsuit went out last month, but that was only a small fraction of the expected total distribution from what is widely known as the Wal-Mart settlement. That's according to the …

Nashville, Tenn.-based merchant processor iPayment Inc. has agreed to be acquired and taken private by two of the company's top executives in a deal valued at about $770 million. The company's board of directors, along with a special committee of that board established last spring to investigate possible offers for …

Debit card transactions authenticated by a biometric scan rather than a PIN will likely start flowing through at least one electronic funds transfer network by the second quarter of 2006, according to Pay By Touch Solutions, a San Francisco-based supplier of fingerprint-authentication systems for point-of-sale electronic payment. Eric Bachman, chief …

An integrated device that would allow plumbers, maid services, pizza-delivery people, and other mobile merchants to perform electronic check conversion as well as accept cards will be commercially available by the end of the first quarter of 2006, according to Commerciant LP, the Houston-based company that makes the terminal. The …

U.S. e-commerce sales totaled $22.3 billion in the third quarter, up 26.7% from the year-ago period, according to statistics released today by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Transactions on the Internet now account for 2.3% of all U.S. retail sales, according to the latest figures, the highest share yet for …

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has begun accepting cards issued on the Debitman Card Inc. network, a 5-year-old system that allows merchants to issue and accept PIN-secured debit cards and clear transactions through the automated clearing house. Wal-Mart began taking the Debitman card Nov. 1 at all 3,600 U.S. Wal-Mart and Sam's …

In a move that could lead First Data Corp. to sell its shrinking card-issuing operation, the Denver-based processor announced today it has hired investment banker Morgan Stanley to investigate options for the unit. The card-issuing business, one of three principal processing operations at First Data, has been rocked in recent …